Cuddling cows
OPINION: Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its cows and instead charge visitors to cuddle them.
OPINION: If we have a confirmed government by the time you’re reading this, we should know who will be flying to Dubai on our behalf to this year’s climate change gabfest – COP28.
It will be a good junket for a newly minted MP plus a platoon of extras to jet to: it is in Dubai, so expect a lavish affair with a buffet (locally sourced food, no doubt) to die for.
Whoever goes, they will emit a ¼ tonne of CO2 per flying hour, per passenger. From Auckland to Dubai, that’s 4.25t of CO2 per person.
The UK and most EU member countries will no doubt send an army. From London to Dubai, each person will produce 1.75t of CO2. Washington DC to Dubai is 3.25t of CO2. Canberra, 4.25t.
Ex-Climate Change Minister James Shaw will be disappointed he isn’t going. In 2021 he got a bit prickly defending his trip to COP26 in Glasgow when Jamie McKay accused him of taking “a rugby team” with him (he took 15) – 68t of CO2 all up. By way of excuse, Shaw said at the time that Fiji was sending 50 people. It’s a 21hr flight from Fiji, so 50 people would have emitted 262.5t of CO2.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
Holstein Friesian excellence was front and centre at the 2025 Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) Awards, held recently in Invercargill.
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.